Lighting options for 20" cube?
 

Its going to be mainly softies with a few sps but nothing all that high light this time. Just easy so I wanted to go with T5's if possible but I can't find anything under 24". I don't want a 24" fixture because of the look (over hanging the tank). I had the 250MH pendant over the tank before but that might be overkill this time.

Any ideas? Or maybe I should just go with a single MH over this tank again?

Nothing comes to mind. I think the mh pendant is the way to go.

Are you thinking retrofit or an actual pendant? Open top? What do you have now?

I guess if you were to build a stand and canopy that joined and wrapped around one end of the tank (3-sides viewable) then a 24" fixture could fit in the canopy and just overhang.

i have the exact size cube and in the same boat for lighting.

I prefer retro fit I think but I haven't found anything.

I have a regular CF spiral bulb over the tank because its just a brackish tank now. Nothing living other than the fish.

I had that 250 watt DE MH but the heat was crazy and I needed too much equipment for that set up (chiller). I got so tired of dealing with all the additives, heat, too much sps, ect.... I sold it to get a baby green spotted puffer (my old one had died earlier this year) and use the tank to grow it up from fresh to saltwater. I was going to take longer to get it to full marine but I kind of rushed it along already.

So I prefer T5 to avoid heat issues.

The 250 watt pendant I was using before was awesome and you can keep anything really but you do have to be careful about heat. My chiller was on all day long about 40 minutes of each hour. I added a fan which helped a lot but then I got some noise and more evaporation.

I don't recall ever seeing a reef t5 bulb (or any for that matter) for sale at less than 24".

well my basement here in red deer stays pretty cool in the summer. i have a pendant but i want a better one and i want to go with DE

Ok, that's what I thought.

I guess I will have to go MH then. Maybe just a 150 this time.

Anyone know how much cooler a 150 would be compared to a 250?

Oh that may work well then. My condo is very hot all the time and that was part of the problem.

Maybe LED? Elos Elite? I know you dig the fancy =)

*edit* I don't read anything good about these.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7007/elite2szn5.jpg

yeah i moved out of my condo for that main reason. just got to damn hot. and in the winter everyone liked to have the heat maxed out as well.

i have a 150w mogul pendant and its not to bad for heat

wow those LED's are fancy that would be sweet

Yes I do dig this light...but not going to happen. I already looked into getting one :neutral:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUARIUM-LIGHT-2...item3ef98b01bc
check this out

nova extreme pro has a 6 bulb in 20 inches. the down side to anything under 24" is that no one makes bulbs for them. I agree with lastlight, take a look into LED's esspecally for what you want it sounds perfect

What LED's would you look into other than Elos?

The DIY forum on RC has a few amazing write-ups if you're feeling adventurous. I think most people are using the CREE leds.

agreed, same with on nano reef. they have a few write ups cause the elos is out there for pricing. I will search for them tomorrow

Might look into a few of these:

http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_i...roducts_id=213

That would look cool, I am using 175w MH in a Luminmax over the FOWLR and find it is not nearly as hot as the 250w I was running (warm to the touch) and the spread is nice and even, worth looking at but probably overkill on a 20" tank.

I was considering a 175 maybe.

I like the LED idea though. They will last a heck of a long time, low wattage and power cost, no need for a bulky fixture (just regular sockets and cords).

I think 2 or 3 of them over the tank would be very bright.

Thats actually the design of the guy in this think:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=186982

good read

Thanks I will read that when I get home.

Anyone know what a lamp like this would equal in terms of MH? Someone on RC said about a 150 but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

Current makes an 18" T5HO and several fixtures for it. I use the 2 bulb version above my 16G nano.

Where did you get this fixture?

I got mine from OA.

Again, mine is the cheapie 2 bulb, 1 reflector model...http://oceanaquatics.com/store/produ...%22-Saltwater/

Here is their high end version...

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/produ...eme-Pro-20%22/

Or maybe these:

http://www.reefbuilders.com/2009/10/...d-spot-lights/

refer back to my first post. i think if the owner doesn't want 24" t5's across the tank i would not suggest them.

i had this fixture and would not reccomend it due to that issue

Yeah, I saw that he didn't want the 24" version but he said it was because it would hang over...the 20" version won't hang over.

Also, he asked where to find them so I was just answering.:biggrin:

I like this option but I worry about getting replacement bulbs. Does anyone know if anyone else makes 18watt bulbs that would fit this fixture. It looks like it comes with bulbs out of the box which is fine but I don't want to have a hard time finding new ones in a year and a half.

Think it comes with these:

http://www.current-usa.com/slimpaqt5ho.html

I have the 20" 6 bulb version and it lights up my 16 x 16 x 20 tank great. SPS are growing nicely. I took some PAR measures with new bukbs the other day too:
(Old picture with new PAR numbers)
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...07-07-09-1.jpg

Thanks! Thats great info.

And actually OA does carry the replacement bulbs. They are just labeled on the site as 20watt. But are actually the 18 watt.

This might be the best option. I don't think I am feeling brave enough to experiment with LED's! Not really planning sps either, so more than enough light for the one or two sps I will have.

i didn't mean replacement bulbs lol, i ment like high end bulbs (ati, AS, GE, KZ) no one makes bulbs in 20" but i guess i am just picky with bulbs choices

Yeah I knew what you meant. I would be picky too if this were a sps dominated tank but its not and I am trying to just keep things simple.

The last time I set this tank up it wasn't so simple and I hated dealing with it after a while, so I took it apart. I think T5's are the best way for me to go and this is the only 20" fixture I can find.

valid point. i owned this fixture before and it was ok. but like shimpchips posted it can still keep sps and does put out decent light.

one thing i hate about it was how load the fans are. besides that i guess its not bad for what your getting.